The Miseducated Dieter

In January 2016, inspired by the extraordinary power of “Hashtag Activism” through the Ferguson, Eric Garner & Tamir Rice protests here in the United States, I set out on a mission.

First, utilize social media – namely Twitter & Facebook, to see just how much I could learn and share about the overabundance of conflicting information on dietary health, along with pinpointing gaps in access to nutrition education and resources for low-income communities in other parts of the world.

Next, connect with public health advocates via social media to do something about it. The catch – social media would be the primary platform used to access and cultivate these relationships.

Why Social Media?

The Miseducated Dieter was initially launched as a social media experiment. What I’ve discovered over the past year and the connections I was able to make using only my Twitter timeline, “Retweets” and Twitter DM (direct messaging) continues to blow me away.

Global networks of concerned public health advocates share breaking information with one another (and the public) in a matter of seconds – all while oceans apart in distance. Courses in public health, webinars on how to blog for social justice, Twitter chats with national organizations promoting health education and tips for reducing sugar consumption were floating around the Twittersphere – at no cost.

Imagine the possibilities if we began teaching kids how to take advantage of those resources? Better yet, teaching youth how to create their own resources and share them with their peers across the globe.

Interested in learning more? Check out a preview of what’s coming soon!

The Miseducated Dieter page on Facebook is a community-driven social forum for those on (or still recovering from) a diet! Established to identify some of the conflicting news on all things “dietary” — the forum also highlights books, articles, inspiring quotes, and helpful resources to combat the growing influx of misinformation on what makes for “healthy” eating and active living across the globe.

Post navigation

I’d be concerned about children reading each of these tips, because without a proper context (as social media so often lacks) it will confuse the bejeezus out of them. It confuses adults.

The information that floats around on social media is often more concerned with generating views than it is with actual education. Add to that the abundance of misinterpreted studies or advice given from studies that don’t apply to most people reading, and you have a cocktail for disaster as far as education goes.

Having been a consumer (and still am) of such information, I can tell you that it’s immensely frustrating to those of us who read clinical studies regularly. There literally isn’t enough time in the day to either put that information in context or debunk the misinformation/misinterpretation. Some people have dedicated their careers to it, and still receive backlash when they’re 100% correct and validated by studies.

Great points & thank you! My hope is that by identifying some of the conflicting information, we adults can better educate youth as to how to look for those inconsistencies as well. The Miseducated Dieter page on Facebook was established for people to identify and contribute on these topics further.

Teaching children about healthy eating and active living is tricky when we adults are still in the dark about a lot of this health information ourselves, so your point is well taken! That said, great scholarly work and research is also getting lost in translation and not making it into the communities and families who need them most on the ground floor…

Establishing The Miseducated Dieter as a platform to discuss and educate one another is my contribution and attempt to bridge the disconnect. But my aim was never to do it alone! 🙂 Thanks for your feedback, and I hope you’ll consider adding to this conversation as the project grows!
-KC